KIEV.- This collaboration occurs at a most timely moment for USA and Ukraine engagement. Maida Withers, noted Washington, DC choreographer, and Anton Ovchinnikov, ZelyonkaFest founder, Kiev, are co-creating “60 Moves with Future Gaze,” a site-specific performance featuring 15 Ukrainian contemporary dancers and live electronic music by Steve Hilmy, USA, in honor of the 60th Anniversary Gala Celebration of The historic National Exhibition Center, Kiev, Ukraine.- Friday, July 6, 2018. “60 Moves with Future Gaze, a dance production of Black O!Range, and Ukrainian Contemporary Dance Platform, Kiev,” was created during a 15-day residency in the studio of the Les Kurbas Centre for Performing Arts and on the territory of the Expo Center.
The National Exhibition Center is known to all as a unique islet, an architectural pearl. On the territory of the complex there are 180 buildings and structures, 20 of which have the status of historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine. This is the location of the upcoming “60 Moves with Future Gaze.”
“60 Moves with Future Gaze” explores the relationship between architecture and the human body in order to better understand how architecture affects our identity and patterns of behavior. What do we feel today, being surrounded by the ideology of the Soviet past – a past deeply embodied in architecture? And who are WE - the people who have lived in times of dramatic change, who are still in the process of self-identification –.scattering the ruins of the past for the sake of the future.
The idea of creating this performance was announced by artistic director of Black O!Range Dance Production Anton Ovchinnikov in 2016. Anton proposed creating a cycle of site-specific performances called "Revitalizing the Past - Creating the Future". it was proposed to create street performances, with the background of the Stalinist architecture of the city of Kiev, which has the artistic and historical value. In the first performance of the cycle we set the task of investigating the relationship between architecture and the body in order to understand how architecture can influence a person, its identity and patterns of behavior.
Most Ukrainians still live in an environment of Soviet architecture which was built during the days of Stalin and Khrushchev. It is well known that architecture was the embodiment and reflection of the dominant ideology and state policy. Houses in the era of Stalin were built to inspire respect for the state system, to express confidence, optimism, faith in the victory of the Soviet system and lifestyle. That day is now past but the architecture continues and must be re-envisioned by the new Ukraine – the passionate and innovative spirit of youth revitalizing the past while creating the future.
Maida Withers is the founding artistic director of Maida Withers Dance Construction a not-for-profit federally tax-exempt arts organization established in Washington, DC to create and present multimedia performance works for stage, site locations, and film in a collaborative process with performing and visual artists, scientists, and others interested in experimentation.. Maida Withers has created a substantive body of work for the Company, more than 100 works. Maida and the Company have participated in residencies, collaboration, and tours in over 18 countries including Brazil, Guatemala, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Croatia, China, India, Korea, Finland, Venezuela, Mexico, Poland, and Germany with frequent sponsorship by U.S. Embassies and the U.S. Department of State. Please visit MWDCCo archive and unique timeline: http://maidadance.com. Maida is a Professor of Dance in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University in Washington, DC where she has been instrumental in establishing successful MFA, MA and BA Degrees.
Anton Ovchinnikov - lecturer, performer, choreographer and organizer of the annual international dance festival Zelyonka FEST in Kiev, Ukraine. In 2008, after ten years of teaching, travelling to international forums and festivals, Ovchinnikov established the Black O!Range dance theater. The theater is recognized as one of the most distinctive and original dance projects in Ukraine. In 2017 the Black O!Range is an independent dance production company, which, despite the total lack of funding, continues to be the vanguard of the Ukrainian dance scene. In 2016/2017 Anton Ovchinnikov presented two solo performances and created two multidisciplinary projects and was selected to participate in the CEC Artslink residence in the USA. Main objectives of Ukrainian Contemporary Dance Platform managed by Anton Ovchinnikov is to support young Ukrainian choreographers, integrate contemporary dance into the modern cultural life of Ukraine and establish a national center of contemporary dance.
STEVE HILMY, composer/musician, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Steve received his Bachelor of Arts, 1984, from George Washington University, and his Masters of Music in Composition, 1991, from Peabody Conservatory of Music, Johns Hopkins University. He studied composition with William Albright, University of Michigan and with Jean Eichelberger Ivey and Chen Yi, Peabody Conservatory. Hilmy has been on the faculty of George Washington University Music Department since 1992, where he founded the important Electronic and Computer Music Studio. He has won awards from Southeastern Composers League, ASCAP, BMI, the Peabody Conservatory, and The Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and First Prize in the Philip Slates Memorial Composition Contest for “Icarus Falling;” Gustav Klemm Prize for Composition, Peabody Conservatory (1991); and 2nd place prize in the Prix d’été II composition competition, Peabody Conservatory for “Us” (tenor saxophone and electronics, 1999). Hilmy has been the musical director for Maida Withers Dance Construction Company since 1995 improvising in events and creating and performing music for evening length multimedia dance works and dance films. He is resident composer and musician with the Company.
